UE Wonderboom 4
JBL Flip 6
The Design
Both speakers are similar in design to their previous versions. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as the designs work well. A speaker grill fabric covers the bulk of the surface on both speakers. It’s a strong and robust fabric that certainly feels up to being able to stand up to a knock or two. That’s something that’s crucial in a portable speaker.
The ends of both speakers are rubberized. This helps them not only stay in place whilst playing music, but adds extra protection too.
The Flip 6 adds to the visual presence of the speaker by exposing it’s passive radiators on either end of the speaker. They remain hidden behind the speaker grill on the Wonderboom 4.
There’s also a fabric loop on the back of both speakers so you can easily hang each speaker up, or attach it to something like the strap on your backpack.
Size, Weight & Controls
The Wonderboom 4 is exactly the same size as the previous Wonderboom 3. It is about 10 cm tall and wide, and weighs about 420g. The JBL Flip 6 on the other hand is thinner at only 2.6” in diameter but is longer at just over 7” long. That extra length does make the Flip 6 heavier though as it weighs 550g. So you definitely do notice the weight difference between the two.
Both speakers offer the same basic button controls covering volume up and down, play/pause, and also skipping tracks forwards. Neither speaker lets you skip a track backwards though. There is also a partyboost button on the Flip 6. We’ll get to what that does shortly.
How waterproof are they?
Both speakers are dustproof and waterproof with a IP67 rating. Although the one advantage that the Wonderboom 4 has is that it floats, whilst the Flip 6 sinks!
Connectivity
Both speakers support multipoint and stereo pairing. However the Flip 6 also supports Partyboost. This allows it to pair with up to 100 other JBL speakers, like a Charge 5 or another Flip 6, and play the same music out of all of them at the same time. Now that’s just something that the Wonderboom 4 can’t do.
How long does the Battery Last?
What the Wonderboom 4 does have though is better battery life. You will get 14 hours of battery life out of the Wonderboom 4 compared to the 12 hours out of the Flip 6. Both do however take roughly 2 and 1/2 hours to charge.
There is an LED bar on the Flip 6 which makes it is easy to see how charged the speaker is. The Wonderboom 4 unfortunately opts for audible beeps to tell you how charged it is, which just isn’t as intuitive.
Charging the JBL Flip 6 is easily done using the USB-C port in the back of the speaker.
Charging any Ultimate Ears speaker on the other hand has always been a sore point for me. They have been one of only a few companies that have stuck with the older micro USB port for charging on all their speakers. That included the Wonderboom 3. However, they have finally updated their speaker range and the Wonderboom 4 comes with a USB-C charging port! Hallelujah! It’s annoying that it’s taken them this long to make the switch, but at least they got there in the end.
How do they sound?
The Flip 6 and Wonderboom 4 do sound quite different to each other, and that’s primarily down to their choice of drivers.
The Wonderboom 4 comes with two 40mm full range active drivers, and two passive radiators, to drive it’s sound. Overall it’s a fairly balanced sound and is going to sound good to most people. It also does 360° sound. So no matter when you sit, in relation to the speaker, the music sounds exactly the same. So if you’re going to be listening to music in a group, and don’t want to worry about where you put the speaker, then the Wonderboom 4 is a great option.
The JBL Flip 6 on the other hand comes with a single 80mm woofer and 16mm tweeter. This gives it a wider frequency response range. The dedicated woofer gives music more low end, and so more bass. This is great if you like your music loud and thumpy. The passive radiators on either side also help give that extra bit of oomph. It does however also make the sound very directional compared to the Wonderbooom 4’s 360° sound. So it sounds it’s best when you are sitting directly in front of it.
Volume wise the Flip 6 can also go louder at 30w, compared to the 86dBc that the Wonderboom 4 can run at. However I wouldn’t run either speaker at high volumes. They sound their best when run at low to medium volumes. A comment that I make about most speakers.
Do these have a mobile app?
Only the JBL Flip 6 comes with mobile app support. This allows you to get firmware updates for the speaker, and use the 3-band EQ to tweak how they sound. You can also use the app to pair this up with another JBL FLip 6 is stereo mode, or more JBL speakers using Partyboost.
How much do they cost?
Despite the UE Wonderboom 4 being relatively new, whilst the retail price is $100, it is often discounted on Amazon! The JBL Flip 6 on the other hand retails for $130. I’ve also seen that heavily discounted on Amazon too though. So it definitely pays to shop around.
Which should you buy?
If you want more bass, mobile app support, and you want to be able to connect to multiple other speakers, then the JBL Flip 6 is a good buy.
On the other hand, if you want a lighter speaker, that floats, and gives you a more balanced 360° sound, then the Wonderboom 4 is a good buy.
They are honestly both good speakers and I don’t think you’d be disappointed with whichever one you got.